Sheffield Wednesday is going back to the EFL Championship after Josh Windass scored in the dying moments of extra time to beat Barnsley 1-0 at Wembley.
Windass’ diving header from the penalty spot in the 123rd minute of the playoff match put the Owls 1-0 up over its promotion rival, who were down to 10 men.
The goal, scored with six seconds of extra time to play, further cemented the Windass name into English football’s playoff folklore, after his father, Dean, scored a late winner at Wembley that earnt Hull City promotion to the Premier League 15 years ago.
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Barnsley was playing with ten men for more than 70 minutes after Adam Phillips was controversially sent off early in the second half. In the 49th minute, Phillips lunged in on Lee Gregory and copped a straight red card from referee Tim Robinson.
Five minutes later, Barnsley came agonisingly to a goal when Liam Kitching cleverly diverted a shot onto the Wednesday crossbar.
A stunning extra-time goal from Wednesday substitute Will Vaulks, where his first-time shot flew into the top corner, was disallowed when assistant referee Akil Howson raised his flag for offside.
But the 44,000 Wednesday fans celebrated in style when Windass replicated his father’s heroics in the dying moments of the match, ensuring the Owls returned to the Championship after a two-year hiatus.
“It’s the stuff dreams are made of,” Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore said.
“You couldn‘t write it. It finished a titanic game that ebbed and flowed both ways.
“This is a special moment for me because it means so many people in Sheffield are happy and positive. When a football club does well you see the knock-on it has in the city, in the community.
“It goes to show that the impossible can be achieved. It‘s a fairytale story.”
Wednesday finished the regular League One season third on 96 points, the highest total in EFL history that did not lead to automatic promotion.
The Owls lost 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final against Peterborough, but miraculously fought back the following week to book their spot in the playoff against Barnsley. Monday’s victory, which Wednesday skipper Barry Bannan called “the best moment of my life”, wrapped up one the most dramatic paths to promotion in the league’s history.
Wednesday accompanies Plymouth and Ipswich into England‘s second tier.